Ozone NAAQS

Data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) show that aggregate national emissions of six common air pollutants have fallen an average of 70 percent since 1980. This is even while our population, energy use and GDP have increased. The nation’s air is getting cleaner and will continue to improve as states implement existing standards – many of which have not yet been fully implemented. Many municipalities need more time to implement current national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS), and yet the agency continues its heedless rush to lower them further for little or no improvement to public health.

For example, unnecessary revisions to the ozone standard could significantly chill economic investment and activity across the nation. Businesses of all sizes could be forced to navigate additional layers of bureaucracy and red tape to satisfy added permitting requirements. This could even prevent communities from improving aging infrastructure such as highways or waste treatment facilities.

Communities and businesses must be allowed to continue the progress they have made without the uncertainty and unnecessary cost for all Americans created by shifting standards to levels that achieve no demonstrable health benefit.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should not change the current ozone standards. The U.S. government has a responsibility to keep federal regulations sensible and not change standards on businesses and consumers needlessly.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) supports the option EPA included in the proposal to retain the current primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone at the level of 0.075 parts per million (ppm). Further, API supports EPA's proposal to retain the form of the secondary standard equal to the primary standard, in this instance at 0.075 ppm. API finds that the science does not support a change in these standards and that the current standards protect public health and welfare with an adequate margin of safety.